Professional Documents
Culture Documents
5
CONTENTS
1 Straight & Level/Espie "Butch" Joyce
2 AlC News
4 Aeromail
5 Anton Bilek's Museum Spirit/
H.G. Frautschy
7 Bungee Starting/Hank Palmer
8 Puppy Lovel1ohn Willmott
12 Piper's Super Cruiser/
H.G. Frautschy & Norm Petersen
19 What Our Members Are
RestoringiNorm Petersen
2 1 Modifying a Swift for Aerobatic or
Just Good Performance/Jim Montague
25 Mystery Plane/H. G. Frautschy
26 Pass it to Buck/Buck Hilbert
28 Calendar
29 Welcome New Members
30 Membership Information
Page19
Page21
FRONT COVER...The PiperPA-12SuperCruiserhasbeena favoriteairplaneof
Piperfansformanyyears, anda recentbatchofnewerrestorationshavebeen
seenatvariousfly-ins. This is J.F. FisherIII ofSenoia,GAandhissharplookingPA-
12duringhisvisittoEAAOshkosh '97. ItwasselectedastheReserveGrand
ChampionClassicoftheConvention.EAAphotobyJim Koepnick,shotwitha
CanonEOS-ln equippedwithan80-2oommlens. 1/250@ fllon 100ASAtrans-
parencyfilm. EAACessna210photoplaneflownbyBruceMoore.
BACKCOVER..."PassingAges"is theartworkproducedbyretiredAirForce
flyerJohnSarsfieldofLongmont,CO.Depictingthe"changingoft heguard"
asthetravelingpublicbegantheirswitchfromrail roadstoairlinersduringt he
1930s, "PassingAges"showsa LockheedElectracrossing overa Hudsonloco-
motiveasithurtlesdowntherails inthetwilight. Fora bitmore information,
pleaseseeA/CNews,
Copyright 1998 bytheEM Antique/ClassicDivisionInc,All rightsreserved.
VINTAGEAIRPLANE IISSN 00916943) is published and owned exclusively by the EMAntique/Classic Division, Inc. of the Experimental
Aircraft Association and is published monthlyat EMAviation Center. 3000 Poberezny Rd., P.O.Box 3086, Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54903-3086.
PeriodicalsPostagepaidatOshkosh, Wisconsin 54901 and atadditional mailingoffices.The membership rate forEMAntique/ClassicDivision,
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The words fAA, ULTRALIGHT, FLY WITH THE FIRST TEAM, SPORT AVIATION, FOR THE LOVE OF FLYING and the logosof fAA, EM
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EDITORIALSTAFF
Publisher
TomPoberezny
Editor-in-Chief
JackCox
Editor
HenryG.Frautschy
ManagingEditor
GoldaCox
ArtDirector
MikeDrucks
ComputerGraphicSpecialists
NancyHanson OliviaL. Phillip
PierreKotze
AssociateEditor
NormPetersen
StaffPhotographers
JimKoepnick LeeAnnAbrams
KenLichtenberg
Advertising/EditorialAssistant
IsabelleWiske
EAAANTIQUE/CLASSICDIVISION, INC.
OFFICERS
President Vice-President
Espie"Butch"Joyce GeorgeDaubner
P.O. Box35584 2448Lough Lone
Greensboro,NC27425 Hartford,WI 53027
910/393-0344 414/6735885
Secretory Treasurer
SteveNesse CharlesHorris
2009HighlandAve. 7215East46thSt.
AlbertLeo, MN 5tlYJ7 Tulsa, OK 74145
ffJ7/373-1674 918/622-8400
DIRECTORS
JohnBerendt GeneMorris
7645EchoPointRd. 5936SteveCourt
ConnonFalls, MN55009 Roanoke,TX 76262
ffJ7/2632414 817/491-9110
Phil Coulson RobertC."Bob"Brauer
28415SpringbrookDr. 9345S. Hoyne
Lawton,MI49065 Chicago, IL60620
616/624-M90 312/7792105
JoeDickey
JohnS.Copeland
55OakeyAv.
1 ADeaconStreet
Lawrenceburg, IN 47025
Northborough, MA01532
812/5379354
508/3934775
DaleA. Gustafson
StanGomoll
7724ShadyHill Dr.
104290thLone, NE
Indianapolis,IN 46278
317/2934430
RobertLickteig JeannieHill
1708BoyOaksDr. P.O. Box328
AlbertLeo, MN5tlYJ7 Harvard,IL60033
ffJ7/373-2922 815/943-7205
DeanRichardson RobertD. "Bob"Lumley
6701 ColonyDr. 1265South 124thSt.
Madison,WI 53717 Brookfield, WI 53005
608/833-1291 414/7822633
S.H.'Wes"Schmid GeaffRobison
2359LefeberAvenue 1521 E. MacGregorDr.
Wauwatosa,WI 53213 NewHoven,IN 46774
414/771-1545 219/493-4724
GeorgeYork
181 SlobodaAv.
Mansfield,OH 44906
419/5294378
DIRECTORS EMERITUS
GeneChase E.E. "Buck"Hilbert
2159CarltonRd. P.O.Box424
Oshkosh,WI 54904 Union,IL60180
920/2315002 815/923-4591
ADVISORS
SteveKrog RogerGomoll
1002HeatherLn. 321- 1/2S. Broadway
Hartford,WI53027 Apt.3
414/966-7627 Rochester, MN55904
ffJ7288-281 0
AlanShackleton DavidBennet!
P.O. Box656 4D3TonnerCt.
SugarGrove, IL60554-0656 Roseville, CA95678
630-466-4931 916-7827025
STRAIGHT& LEVEL
by ESPIE "BUTCH" JOYCE
S
un 'n Fun has kicked off the begin-
ning of the fly-in season! Now all
of the local Chapter activities will
be taking place - sometimes it's hard to
make up your mind which local event
will be the most fun. I have been in-
volved with two Chapters for some time,
EAA Chapter 8 and Antique/Classic
Chapter 3. Chapter 8 was formed some
time around 1958 and has been based in
Greensboro, NC most of the time , with
officers of the Chapter coming from dif-
ferent areas near Greensboro.
It was my pleasure to serve as presi-
dent of this Chapter in the late 1960s. At
that time it was a small group, with maybe
25 members. For the most part, we were
focused on homebuilt aircraft. At that
time, I was building a Pitts SIC, intending
to become the world aerobatic champion.
That never came to pass because Dick
Austin, a fellow member, caused me to
catch MONOCOUPE fever. I have been a
vintage airplane nut ever since.
This interest in vintage aircraft led me
to become involved with a group of old
airplane enthusiasts, better known as the
CarolinasNirginia Chapter of the Antique
Airplane Association. One of the great
benefits of belonging to this group was the
fact that everyone received a great
newsletter, written and edited by Jack
Cox. We lost Jack as a newsletter editor
when he was hired by the EAA to be the
editor of Sport Aviation magazine. One of
the benefits of having Jack on board is that
the talented Golda Cox (Jack's wife) came
on board too. In the early 1970s this group
became EAA Chapter 396-3A, then later
was converted to Antique/Classic Chapter
3. AlC Chapter 3 still has a great newslet-
ter, which is written by Ray Bottom of
Hampton Roads, VA. A newsletter is a
very important part of a Chapter's suc-
cess, keeping the local members informed
of happenings and projects of interest.
At our last AlC board meeting held last
month, Alan R. Shackleton was appointed
by the Board of Directors to be an An-
tique/Classic Advisor. Alan is from Sugar
Grove, IL and is the current president of
the Fox Valley Sport Aviation Associa-
tion, as well as EAA Chapter 579 in
Aurora, IL. He has also served as their
NewsLetter Editor. He is the CUlTent Pres-
ident of the EAA Chapter Advisory
Council and an EAA Representive to the
Illinois Aviation Forum and Hall of Fame.
Alan restored a Staggerwing B17L, SIN
3, the 1983 Oshkosh Reserve Grand
Champion. He has owned and flown a
1946 Luscombe 8A since 1985. His cur-
rent project is a 1949 Stinson 108-3. He
has a private pilot license with approxi-
mately 600 hrs., and all but 100 of them
have been in tailwheel airplanes. Noted
by one of the directors was the fact that
not only are we getting Alan on board, but
we will have the support of his great wife,
Donna. We look forward to having their
positive input in the future.
I don ' t know how the flying weather
has been where you are located, but here
in the Carolinas it has been rough air
since the first of the year' . . . 1 mean, no
fun at all! The South and Southeast have
had their share of tornados. I have a build-
ing in Madison, NC located next to my
home place. It is 40' by 60', and I use it as
a work shop for different projects. On the
national news you may have seen the tor-
nado that hit Stonevil le, NC. It got its
head of steam up at my shop, where it re-
moved most of the shingles from the roof
and sucked the front concrete block wall
almost off the foundation, causing a bow
in the wall. That is one repair project that
I have not figured out how to fix as of yet!
1fared much better than a lot of other peo-
ple did in town. Our thoughts and concerns
go out to all of those who have had losses
from these storms this year.
I told you last month 1 would share
some of the information that Ken
Woodard gave me concerning the history
of my recently acquired 8E, N2628K.
Here's part of what he wrote:
"The previous owner before Ken was
Jim Beck. If you look in John Swick' s
book titled The Luscombe Story, on page
196 you will find Jim' s name listed as a
Luscombe dealer in Zionsville, Indiana in
1948, where Jim ran his small airport and
was an A&P at Beck Airport. Over a pe-
riod of years he owned a number of
different airplanes including the Parks P-2
biplane later owned by Richard Bach, au-
thor of lonathan Livingston Seagull and
numerous books about people, airplanes
and flying. N2628K also was one Jim
owned for a few years up to about 1969,
when he was diagnosed with cancer. He
sold 2628K in '69 or ' 70 to the man I
bought it from in 1972. As it turned out, 1
built a house in the same town where Jim
was living and when he found out I owned
2628K, he looked me up and told me
about the following disasters that oc-
curred to that old airplane while he owned
it. Despite the accident stories I'll soon re-
late to you, Jim and the other people who
flew it had many enjoyable hours in the
airplane, as I did also when I owned it."
I'll quote more from Ken's note
next month.
To all of those people who have been
so great to support the 10nlmembership
drive, thank you very much . . . the Board
of Directors and I ask that you keep up
the great job. There are some members
we have not heard from and it would be
great if each member could recruit at
least one new member, so they too could
enjoy your great magazine Vintage Air-
plane and have the pride of sporting the
A/C logo. Next month, I will list all of
the chairmen of the different Antique/
Classic activities taking place during
EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, so you will
know who to contact, should you have a
question in advance of the Convention.
Again, I would like to caution everyone
to be very safety minded while operating
your aircraft - we need all of you around
for a long time. Lets all pull in the same
direction for the good of aviation. Re-
member we are better together. Join us
and have it all ! .....
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 1
A/CNEWS
compiled by H.G. Frautschy
AbouttheBackCover...
John Sarsfield,6541 St. VrainRd.,
Longmont, CO 80503,wrote the follow-
ingabouthis painting"PassingAges,"
whichdepictsaLockheedElectrapassing
overaHudsonlocomotiveattwilight:
I want people to understand the signifi-
cance ofaviation. Our lives have been
changed immeasurably by the ability to see
the worldfrom an aerial perspective. often in
subtle ways. The ability to experience
cloudscapes as three dimensional objects
and see landscapes from unfamiliar vantage
points changes our outlook on life. 1 want to
introduce this perspective to the earthbound
viewer and attempt to capture it for the fly-
ers to enjoy in their hours on the ground. ..
AUTOGASRUMORUNTRUE
Severalmembershave contacted EAA
recentlyand askedaboutarumorcUlTently
circulatingamong some FBOs thatthe
auto fuel STCs issuedby EAA and Pe-
tersen Aviationwere now void becauseof
changes in theASTM fuel specifications.
To put it simply, the rumors are
nottrue.
An article in aFBO trade magazine
citedanunnamedsourcefrom amajorfuel
supplierasstatingtheSTCswereno longer
valid becauseofchangesmade to the
ATSM specificationsnow in effect. That
supposition is incolTect, as the FAAhas
approvedthe use ofauto gas containing
(methyl-tertiary-butylether) MTBE and
(ethyl-tertiary-butylether) ETBEin air-
craftbeingoperated underauto fuel STCs
issued by EAA and PetersenAviation.
MTBEand ETBEare added to gaso-
lineas oxygenates in an effortto curtail
exhaustemissions.
Asstatedin theliterature includedwith
the STC, auto fuel with alcohol added is
not eligible for use in aircraft. Fuel
blended with alcohol hasnot,to date,
been approved by the FAA.
OTWERROR
Alvin "Boots"GeigerofLewiston, MI
was kind enough to call and pointoutan
errorin lastmonth'sarticleconcerning
the Meyers OTW. Imentionedthe fuse-
lage was constructed with asteel tube
innerstructure in the forward halfofthe
fuselage. That'snot correct - the OTW
2 MAY 1998
was builtwith afull monocoque fuselage
structure ofsheetaluminum.Theonly
steeltube in the fuselage are acoupleof
circlesusedas internal attachmentpoints.
AlC HALLOFFAME
Nominations are nowbeingaccepted
for inductees in theAntique/ClassicHall
ofFame. The nextinduction ceremonies
will take place in the fall of1999. Please
use acopyofthe nomination form (see
opposite page) and add any additional
documentationto the form. It isvitally
importantthatyournominee'scontribu-
tions to aviation be documented as
completelyas possible. Additional letters
ofsupportconfirmingthe nominee's
backgroundare certainly welcome. The
NC HallofFamecurrently includes:
E.E. "Buck"Hilbert
GeorgeYork
Joe Juptner
ColePalen
Kelly Viets
HaroldAnnstrong
Ann Pellegreno
Paul Poberezny
Jim Younkin
FLY-IN NOTES
Hereareafew ofthe manygreatType
Club fly-ins takingplace in the coming
months.Checkthem out ifyou'reinter-
ested in thoseairplanes, orifyoujust
wantmoreinformation!
LUSCOMBEFLY-IN
Heldat ColesCountyMemorial Air-
port in Mattoon, IL, the Luscombe Fly-In
is for all Luscombe enthusiasts. The dates
are June 12-14.Forinformation on ac-
commodationsandactivities,contact
JerryCox at217/234-8720, orEmai lhim
atjerryIO@advant.com
AERONCACONVENTION
Aeroncaaviatorsandfans ofthe marque
willgatherin Middletown,OH at Hook
Fieldfor the ninth AeroncaConvention,
which will once again feature the popular
toursofthe Aeronca factory as itexists
today, and abustrip tourto theAirForce
Museum in Dayton.There'scamping,a
Fridaynightsteak fry, andaSaturdayban-
quet.Forinformation,writeJimThompson,
President,National AeroncaAssociation,
P.O.Box 102,Roberts,IL60962-0102.
OREGONAIRTOUR
While notafly-in,thissuresoundslike
fun ifyou'reon the westcoast. Beginning
in CottageGrove, ORonJuly 19,the air
tourwi ll wend itswayacross900milesof
Oregon,j ustabitofIdahoand then west-
ward to the Pacific,endingon July 23.
Contactthe OregonAirTour, P.O. Box
613, Creswell, OR 97426, or phone
5411746-3387.
SOUTHWESTREGIONALFLY-IN
Forthoseofyou who are alreadyplan-
ning your fall calendar, you may be
interestedto know aboutachange in
venue for the SouthwestRegional Fly-In.
Thisyear, the fly-in moves from Kerrville
to Abilene,TX,whereit will occupythe
west sideofthe airport. The new location
will allow the fly-in to grow as the years
progess. Thedatesare October 15-18.
Call 512/388-7399 for information,
orcheckouttheirwebsite: www.mrdata.
comlairshow/swrfi/
SHORTWINGPIPERS
The BuckeyeChapterofthe SWPC
will hosttheannual conventionofthe
club,also being heldat HookField in
Middletown,OH. TheSWPC convention
willtake placeJuly 13-16. With atheme
of"Backto the BirthplaceofAviation,"
attendees will havean opportunityto visit
the AirForce Museum at Wright-Patter-
son AFB,as well as avisitfrom agroup
oflocal enthusiastswho havebuiltand
are flying areplicaofthe WrightModel
B. Formore information,contactTom
Anderson, 513/398-2656(Email: tdander-
son@sprintmai l. com) orJan Widman,
937/364-6050. You can also visittheir
web site: www.shortwing.comlI998
MlKESTROK
Col. Michael Strok, 81, died February
7, 1998at hi shomein Annapolis, MD. A
1938 graduate ofCornell University,he
wentto work at PiperAircraftCorp. that
same year, workinghisway up from a
mechanic'shelperto assistantpurchas-
ingagentbythe timehewentoffto serve
in WW II. As oneofthe men who helped
Piperto prosperpriorto WW II, he was
intimately knowledgeable ofthe efforts
ofPiperto educate the militarybrass on
the capabilitiesthe lightplane in combat.
He wenton to serve with the Armyas a
Liaison pilot,atone pointservingas
Gen. Mark Clark'sEngineeringMainte-
nanceofficer. An inventiveman, he was
awardedthe Itali anCrossofValorfor
devisingamethod for dropping badly
needed supplies to troops strandedon
amountainside.
Hedecidedto continue
his Armyservice,flying
as one ofthe first MASH
helicopterpilotsduring
the Koreanwar. During
his 25 yearmilitaryca-
reer,Mikewasawarded
the BronzestarandAir
medal, as well as the
Army Commendation
medal. He retiredfrom
the Army in 1967. A
career with the Air
Transport Association
followed, butlightair-
craftwere neverfar from
his soul. AlongtimememberoftheEAA
and PiperAviationMuseumFoundation,
Mike enjoyedrestoringand buildinglight
planes.
HAROLDBROMLEY
HaroldBromley, who, alongwith
HaroldGatty, attemptedto fly thePa-
cific in 1930 in the Emsco "Cityof
Tacoma"(above)diedthispastDecem-
berin PalmDesert,CA. He was 99.
Tryingto take advantageofthepre-
vailing winds, Bromleyand Gattytook
offfrom Sabishirobeach350milesnorth
ofToyko, buthad to turn backafter
exhaustfumes in thecabinnearlyover-
camethe aviators. Theywere in the air
over24 hours before landingbackin
Japan. WhenClyde Pangbornand Hugh
Herndoncrossedthe Pacific in a Bel-
lancain 1931,Bromleygave up onthe
transpacificflight.
Bromleyhadattemptedtwiceto span
the ocean,his first flight cutshortwhen,
duringthetakeoffrun from the new air-
portin Tacoma, WAhe was splashedin
theeyesbyspillinggasolineand veered
offthe runway, wreckingtheLockheed
Explorerhe waspilotingand ruining his
chancesofmakingthe flight atthattime.
Two moreLockheedswerebuiltfor the
attempt, butbothwerewreckedbefore
the Emscowas purchasedand shippedto
Japanfor theattemptedflight. ...
INTERNATIONALEAAANTIQUE/CLASSICHALLOFFAME
On this page is the nominatingpetition
fortheEAA Antique/ClassicDivisionHall
ofFame. Ifyou wishtonominateanindivid-
ual who youbelievehasmade asignificant
contributionto the advancementofaviation
between 1950and the presentday, please
makeacopyofthis form, fill it out,addsup-
portingmaterialand sendit to: CharlesW.
Harris, P.O. Box470350,Tulsa, OK74147-
0350. Please mark the envelope: EAA
Antique/ClassicDivisionHall ofFame,
Attn: C. Harris.
Pleasebe as thoroughandobjectiveas
possible. Attachcopiesofmaterialsyou deem
appropriateand helpfultothecommittee.
The personyou nominate musthave ad-
vancedthefieldofaviationduringtheperiod
1950tothepresentday.Theycanbeacitizen
ofany country, and may be livingordead.
Theircontributioncouldbe in the areasof
flying, design, mechanicaloraerodynamic
developments,administration,writing,or
some othervital,relevantfield, oranycom-
binationoffieldsthatsupportaviation.
Tobe consideredfor inductionintothe
EAAAntique/ClassicHall ofFameduring
1999,petitionsmustbereceivedNov. 1,1998.
Person'snamesubmittingthispetition:__________________
Street __________________PhoneNumber______
City State Zip_________
Personnominatedfor inductionintheEAA Antique/ClassicDivisionHallofFame:
Name _____________________________
Street __________________PhoneNumber______
City State Zip_________
DateofBirth IfDeceased, DateofDeath _________
Areaofcontributionsto aviation ____________________
Dateortimespanofthenominee'scontributionstoaviation.Mustbebetween 1950- tothepresentday.
Describetheeventornatureofactivitiesthenomineehasundertakeninaviationtobeworthyof
inductionintotheEAA Antique/ClassicHallofFame. _____________
Describeotherachievementsthenomineehasmadein otherrelatedfields in aviation. ___
Hasthenomineealreadybeen honoredfor his/herinvolvementin aviation,and/orthecontribu-
tionyou arestatingin thispetition? (Circleone) Yes No
If yes, pleaseexplainthenatureofthehonorand/orawardthenomineehasreceived. ___
Please attach any supporting material with
Otherinformation _________________________
your petition for the committee's review.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 3
VINTAGE
AeroMail
DANISH CUB
DearH.G.,
TheJ-2 Cub, SIN 339that is pic-
turedon Page 9 ofthe February '98
Vintage Airplane looks a lotlike an
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LEARNED TO FLY IN A CUB AT 60
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Choke of En'fines
without Motor
and Propell er